


borealis

by altoverse



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, also cafe eorzea says the hot drink haurche brings you when you visit is apparently ginger tea, also this is a haurche lives au. none of that vault shit, can you tell i love writing lore, god i love haurche, other than the dragonsong war being over theres really no indication of when this happens, still love the idea of hot choco though, theyre just vibin and telling stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29579874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altoverse/pseuds/altoverse
Summary: the aurora borealis is a naturally occurring phenomenon also known as the coerthan lights, in which the skies above the holy see light up in brilliant green tones during the coldest nights of the year.inspired by the short filmfox fires
Relationships: Haurchefant Greystone/Warrior of Light
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	borealis

"Forgive me if this question is a touch too personal, but your last name - where does it originate?"  Haurchefant's curious voice cut through Asui's idle thoughts. 

The two of them were hidden away from the rest of Camp Dragonhead in the intercessory, contentedly drinking ginger tea as they chatted idly in front of the fire. 

"Of course, I won't claim to know about Auri naming conventions in the slightest, but Borealis seems rather..." He paused, trying to find the right word. "Unconventional for a last name." 

Asui hummed in thought. "Truth be told, I was just looking for a last name that didn't immediately signal that I wasn't Eorzean - I happened to hear the word in passing and thought it was lovely." 

"I see." Haurchefant nodded thoughtfully. "I ask because there is an old Ishgardian myth about the aurora borealis - the Coerthan lights that grace our skies on the coldest days of the year," Haurchefant began. 

"Ishgard has coldest days?" Asui said with a small smile. "I thought it was just ice year-round now." 

"It definitely feels that way sometimes." The Elezen shifted closer to her side, setting his mug down on the floor and resting his head on her shoulder. "But even in the days before the Calamity struck, they arrived every year without fail, rippling across the night sky like flames left in a fox's wake." He glanced up at her. "Or like bolts of iridescent cloth, unrolled across the stars by one of the celestial weavers." 

"Someone's been studying up on Doman folklore," Asui said teasingly. "But there's a story behind the fox metaphor, isn't there?" She put down her mug of tea as well, propping herself up with her other arm as she felt Haurchefant's hand find hers. 

His fingers curled protectively over her own as he began to speak. 

"Long before the time of men and dragons, the goddess Menphina descended upon the shores of Lake Silvertear, striking the frozen surface with her staff and causing it to ripple with the gentle light of the sunless sea." 

"Some of the animals living by the lake approached the goddess out of curiosity. She told them that she had come to seek their aid in illuminating the night sky, and offered to make them the keepers of the stars, to be immortalized in legend for many years to come. When they agreed, she bid them come forward, and one by one she turned them into the constellations that now decorate the skies of Eorzea." 

"I don't recall there being a fox constellation, though," Asui mused. 

"The fox was too awed by the sight to approach Menphina at first," Haurchefant continued, smiling at her curious interjection. "By the time they mustered up the courage to approach the goddess, there were already enough stars in the sky to light any creature's way." 

"Menphina, admiring the fox's earnest desire to help, chose them to be her eternal messenger, transforming them so their tail left streaks of celestial fire in their wake as they dashed across the night sky." Haurchefant paused for a moment, the silence only broken by the faint crackling of the fire before them. "A lovely folktale, is it not?" 

"Thank you for telling it to me," Asui responded softly. "I enjoyed it." 

Haurchefant gently bumped her horn with his nose. "I never tire of telling that story. It's not a very well known one - most Ishgardian bards prefer the stories of Arabelle de Valentione, the Starlight Celebration, or most recently the Dragonsong War." He fell silent for a moment. "But it is often the less popular tales that are closest to our hearts, are they not?" 

Asui smiled mischievously. "Perhaps they are. My favorite Doman myth is about a scholar whose friend wrote a poem to claim that not even the eight winds could rouse him from his position, only for the scholar to respond with a single word: fart." 

"That is unsurprisingly incredibly on brand for you." Haurchefant said. 

"Oh, of course." Asui grinned. "After the friend received the scholar's reply, he was so insulted by it that he traveled all the way across the lake that separated their houses to reprimand him personally. When he got there, the scholar took one look at him and said, 'If a single fart can blow you across the lake, you don't have much chance against those eight winds, now do you?'" 

Haurchefant burst out into boisterous laughter, head tilting back as the sound rang in Asui's horns. "The funny myths from any culture are always a treat." 

"Much like you enjoy telling the story of the Coerthan lights, I always get a kick out of people's reactions to that one." Asui sighed contentedly, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I do want to see those fox fires for myself, though." 

Haurchefant frowned. "Unfortunately, you're out of luck for at least six moons. The last time they appeared would have been... about the time you were away on Alliance business." 

"Ah, that's a shame," Asui lamented, staring into the fireplace as an idea sprung to her mind. She definitely wouldn't be seeing the real thing for quite a while, but perhaps...? She reached out to the flickering flames with her free hand, feeling the aether pulse before her fingers. "It may not be the season for fox fires, but maybe this will suffice." 

She gently fed aether into the fire, willing it to burn hotter, and was eventually rewarded with shimmering bluish-green flames licking at the logs in the fireplace with a renewed ferocity. 

"I've never seen anyone do something like that before," Haurchefant exclaimed quietly. 

"Well, I've never tried that before, either," Asui responded fondly, kissing the top of his head. "Not exactly the sort of thing the black mages of eld would document in their tomes." 

"They should have," Haurchefant said firmly, wrapping his arms around her. "And if I'm being honest, the northern lights don't sound as appealing anymore when I have you to conjure them up for me. My dear foxfire." 

"Foxfire." Asui considered the pet name for a moment. "I like the sound of that." 

**Author's Note:**

> i love writing lore   
> but andie, you ask, is that post-vault haurchefant? does the intercessory even have a fireplace or a rug? was mor dhona once part of ishgard? well it is now. canon has been taken out back and shot  
> (and yes, that is a reference to the chinese/doman myth of the cowherd and the weaver girl. love me some asian myths and legends)
> 
> [obligatory bookclub plug. come join us](https://discord.gg/enabling-debauched-xivfic)


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